Control mechanism for an engine



Dec. 8, 1959 Filed Sept 10, 1956 w. c. EDDY ETAL 2,916,116

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR AN ENGINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. WILLIAM C. EDDY WILLIAM C. EDDY.JR.

' ATTORNEY Dec. 8, 1959 w. c. EDDY ErAL CONTROL MECHANISM FOR AN ENGINE Filed Sept. 10. 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. WILLIAM C. EDDY WILLIAM C. EDDY} JR.

ATTORNEY Dec. 8, 1959 w, c, EDDY EIAL 2,916,116

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR AN ENGINE Filed Sept. 10, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. WlLLIAM C. EDDY 9 WILLIAM C.EDDY|JR.

Dec. 8, 1959 w. c, EDDYv ETAL 2,916,116

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR AN ENGINE Filed Sept. 10, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

WILLIAM C. ED

DY WILLIAM C EDDY. JR.

ATTORNEY slim United States Patent CONTROL MECHANISM FOR AN ENGINE William" c. Eddyand William c. Eddy, In, Michigan .City,; .Ind. assignors to Television Associates, Inc,

Michigan City, Ind., a corporation of Illinois Application September 1956, Serial No. 608,827 8 Claims; (31. 192-3) The present invention relates to an engine control mechanism andmorepanieuiany to an auxiliary control mechanism for the throttle valve of an internal combustion engine.

In traveling long distances, particularly on the present day superhighways; the automobile, truck or bus driver is usually required to use the conventional aceelerating pedalto' maintain a constant speed over long periode of time, the constant speed being only occasionally interrupted for passing. This continued use of leg and foot to hold the'ped'al in a fixed position results in considerable fatigue to the driver. Various devices, including" hand throttles or levers, have been used in the past to hold the throttle in a desired position and thus relieve the driver of that task; but those devices have certain inherent disadvantages which have made them unsuitable or unsafe. It is one of the principal objects of the present invention to provide a device which can be set to hold the throttle valve of an engine in any desired open position and which will immediately become inoperative and release the throttle in the event trouble develops inthe control mechnisin for the device, thus permitting full control of the throttlevalve by the driver through the standard control mechanism. This latter feature is referred to as a fail safe characteristic of the device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for holding the throttle of an automobile engine in any selected minimum open position without interfering with acceleration of the vehicle by the driver or control of the throttle at any point beyond said minimum position.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an easily controlled and operated device of the aforesaid type which will be rendered completely inoperative immediately upon application of the brakes, horn and/or other manual control and which will remain inoperative until reactuat'ed-by the driver.

A further object is to provide a device for holding the throttle of an engine in a selected position, which can be momentarily rendered at least partially ineffective for temporary deceleration Without disturbing the setting of said device at said selected position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a relatively simple and easily serviced device of the aforesaid type which can be readily installed on a' vehicle without any substantial changes or modifications being required in the conventional{ throttle control mechanism of the vehicle.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings', wherein: W

Figure 1 isa side elevational view of our throttle control mechanism showing it operatively connected to the conventional throttle control mechanism of a standard internal combustion engine for an automobile;

Figurei is an end elevational view of our throttle cont'r'oi mechanism; I

Figure 3 is a vertical cross sectional view or" our throttle cont'rol'mechanism, taken on line 3"3 of Fig-' mez; e

2,916,116 Patented Dec. 8, 1959 Figures 4 and 5 are enlarged detail views of the connection between our mechanism and the conventional throttle control mechanism of the vehicle;

Figure 6 is a partial cross sectional and top plan view of an additional feature which may be included in our control mechanism;

Figure 7 is a wiring diagram of the electrical system of the throttle control mechanism;

Figures 8 and'9 are top plan and elevational' views, respectively, of a modified form of our control mechanism; and

Figure 10 is a top plan view of the linkage including the feature shown in Figure 6. 1

Referring more specifically to the drawings and to' Figure 1 in particular, numeral 10 designates' our throttle control mechanism, 12 a conventional carburetor mounted on an internal combust'ion engine (not shown), 14 a conventional' throttle control linkage, 16 a portion of a standard hydraulic brake system of the vehicle, and 18 the relay box of the electrical system for controlling mechanism 10; Carburetor 12 contains an induction passage 20 having mounted therein a throttle valve 22 connected to' accelerating pedal 24 lay-linkage 14 consisting of a lever 26 mounted on throttle shaft 28, rod 30,- pivoted lever 32 and rod 33. A spring 34 connected to lever 32 and anchored on the engine or at some other suitable point in the engine compartment constantly urges the throttle control mechanism in the direction to close the throttle valve. v r

The auxiliary throttl'econtrol' mechanism 10 consists of an electrical magnet 36 mounted on a bracket 38 and a sliding ir-oniorsteelbar 40 connected to throttle lever 26 by a rod 42 slidably' jonrnalled in a trunnion 44 mounted on an arm 46 of the throttle lever. A nut 47 threaded onto the end of rod 42 forms a one way conmotion between the arm of the throttle lever and rod 4 2 The trunnion is normally held against the nut by a spring 50 mounted on rod142 and reacting betweenthe trunnion and a fixed collar 52 on said rod. The effective length of rod 42 can be variedto suit requirements by screwing the nut either to" the right or left assh o'w'n in Figure 4. V

Bracket 38 on which magnet 36 is mounted is rigidly secured by bolts in holes-54 t'osorne p'art of the engine or other part of the vehicle which will give it unyieldingsupport. we upstanding member's 56 and 58' are integrally joined to the bracket on either side of the magnetand are provided with slots 69' for guiding and retaining bar 40 in proper place over'the" magnet, said slots being sufficiently large to permit free movement of the bar in said slots when the magnet is de'ene'rgized. The magnet is a conventional electrical having an iron core' 62 surrounded by a copper-coil 64' and is' rigidly secured to the base of bracket 38. The core is preferably of pure iron or other material which will become demagnetized immediately upon de-energizing of the coil and is adapted to support bar 49 as the latter reciprocates with the movement of the throttle valve when the magnet is de-energized and to hold said bar firmly in an immovable position' wheneve'r the" coil is energized. Members 56' and 58', bracket 38 and bar 49 complete the electrical field for the magnet.

In order to permit the driver to decelerate the vehicle temporarily without disturbing the setting on the awriliary I control mechanism, a relaxation mechanism 68 suchas' that shown in Figures 6 and 10 may be em ployed." In this arrangement, instead of connecting rod' 42 directly to bar" 4Q, there is" inserted between said rod and bar a" T-shaped lever 70' having one arm 72 conneoted torod 42, the center 74 pivotally connected to bar 40 andltheother arm 76' connected to a solenoid mechanism by a plunger 791 This mechanism contains. two' solenoids 80 and 82 rigidly mounted on bar 40 for alternately moving plunger 79 and an integral plate 84 to the left and right, respectively, to rotate lever 70 in the direc tions to lengthen and shorten the linkage. When one or the other solenoid is energized plate 84 is moved against the end of the energized solenoid which holds the plunger and plate firmly in that position until de-energized. Thus the linkage consisting of bar 40, T-shaped lever .70 and rod 42 are in a contracted or shortened position when solenoid 82 is operative and during this time the linkage operates as if the relaxation mechanism were not present in the linkage. When solenoid 80 is energized, plate 84 and plunger 79 are moved to the left rotating lever 70 counter clockwise and causing rod 42 to move in the throttle valve closing direction. When solenoid 80 is de-energized, and solenoid 82 re-energized, the relaxation mechanism is returned to its normal position. A set screw 86 may be placed in the end of solenoid 80 to permit the stroke of the relaxation mechanismto be adjusted within a limited range. Instead of plate 84 being held against the end of solenoid 80 when it is energized the end of plunger 79 is held firmly against the end of the set screw.

Figure 1 shows a part of a conventional hydraulic brake mechanism including a brake pedal 90, master cylinder 92 and the brake light switch 94. The electrical control for our mechanism is connected into the brake light circuit in such a manner that the mechanism is rendered inoperative immediately when the driver applies the vehicle brakes.

Figure 7 shows a diagram of a suitable electrical control circuit for our auxiliary throttle control mechanism. The main circuit for energizing magnet 36 consists of a storage battery 100, leads 102 and 104 in which are respectively included a manually operated main off-on control switch 105 and double pole relay 110. When the relay is de-energized the circuit including lead 108 to a green light 109 is closed, thus indicating that the auxiliary throttle control mechanism is on, but inoperative. The

' relay 1 which completes the circuit to magnet 36 is initially energized through leads 112, 113, 114 and 116 controlled by push button switch 117. When relay 110 is energized by closing switch 117 thus energizing magnet 36, a second or holding circuit for said relay is simultaneously completed. This circuit consists of leads 120, 122, 124 and 114 and contains two relays 126 and 128 and a manually operated switch 130, all three switches normally being closed. The second circuit to relay 110 keeps said relay energized after the primary circuit to the relay has been opened by the driver removing his finger from push. button switch 117 and hence keeps magnet 36 energized indefinitely until one of switches 126, 128 or 130 has been opened. When one of the latter switches has been opened relay 110 becomes de-energized and remains so until push button switch 117 is again momentarily closed by the driver. When relay 110 closes the circuit to magnet 36 the circuit to green light 109 is opened and a circuit consisting of lead 132 is simultaneously closed to red light 134 thus indicating to the driver that the auxiliary throttle mechanism is in operation.

Relay 126 is controlled from the brake light circuit by a circuit consisting of leads 142, i144 and 146, having therein a relay 148 which is closed through lead 152 at the time relay 110 is energized. Relay 148 is included in the circuit to prevent relay 126 from being energized every time the brake light switch is closed regardless of Whether the auxiliary throttle control mechanism is being used or, not. In practice relays 110 and 148 would be incorporated into one double-pole double throw relay, thus eliminating the need for lead 152. It is seen-from the diagram that whenever the driver operates the vehicle brakes, if our mechanism is in operation, relay'126 becomes energized, breaking the shunted or holding circuit for relay 110 and thus de-energizing the entire throttle control mechanism. Switch 130 is includedsin the same control circuit as relay 126 so that the driver can manually de-energize the entire mechanism quickly whenever the need arises. Relay 128 is controlled through lead 156 from the circuit for the vehicle horn. This latter arrangement is an optional feature and may be omitted if desired, or instead, the circuit therefor may be connected to a switch actuated by the clutch or accelerating pedal or to a dead mans switch on the vehicle steering wheel.

The circuit for the solenoids of relaxation control 68 is substantially independent of the remainder of the control circuits and consists of leads 160 and 161 to solenoid and leads 162 and 163 to solenoid 82, controlled by push button switch 164. When the driver wishes to use the relaxation control, he merely manually pushes the button for switch 164 thus opening the circuit to solenoid 82 and closing the circuit to solenoid 80 and holds it in that position as long as operation of the relaxation control is required.

In the operation of the automobile having one of the present auxiliary throttle control mechanisms installed thereon, the driver operates the vehicle in the usual manner until he manually brings the mechanism into operation by closing oif-on switch and momentarily closing push button switch 117. Until this is done the throttle valve of the carburetor is controlled exclusively by the acceleration pedal 24. As the pedal is pushed toward the floor board, throttle control linkage 14 rotates throttle lever 26 and arm 46 in a counter clockwise direction, as viewed in Figures 1 and 4, opening the throttle valve and simultaneously sliding rod 42 and bar 40 to the left. Spring 50 is not compressed and trunnion 44 and nut 47 move together since until magnet 36 is energized bar 40 moves freely in slots 60 and on core 62 and there is no resistance to the movement of rod 42.

When the driver reaches a long, uninterrupted stretch of highway Where little or no change in the throttle setting is required for extended periods of time, he can relieve himself of the constant manual operation of the accelerating pedal by actuating the auxiliary throttle control mechanism. This is done by first selecting with the accelerating pedal the desired opening of the throttle valve and then closing switch 105 and switch 117, the latter only momentarily. This energizes magnet 36 thus pulling bar '40 firmly against the upper end of core 62 with suificient force that the bar can not be moved by either spring 34 or spring 50. Hence the throttle valve is held in the selected partially open position against the force of spring 34 tending to return the valve to its closed position. I

If the driver wishes to accelerate to pass another vehicle, he merely pushes the accelerating pedal further toward the floor board causing linkage 14 to rotate lever 26 further in the counter clockwise direction to open the throttle the desired amount. As lever 26 is rotated arm 46 being integrally joined thereto is likewise rotated; however, since bar 40 is held firmly by magnet, 36, trunnion 44 which is attached to arm 46 slides on rod 42 toward the left, as seen in Figures 1 and 4, compressing spring 50, thus leaving bar 40 set in its preselected position on magnet 36. When the driver wishes to return to the initially preselected speed, he merely removes his foot from the accelerating pedal and the throttle valve is returned to its partially opened position as determined by the position of the bar 40 on magnet 36.

Whenever the driver applies the vehicle brakes relay 126, which is controlled from the brakelightcircuit, opens the circuit to relay thus breaking the circuit to magnet 36 which thereupon releases bar 40. When this bar is released spring 34 immediately returns the throttle valve to its closed position. If the driver at any time wants to render the auxiliary control mechanism inoperable he merely momentarily opens switch which de-energizes relay 110. Once the mechanism is rendered inoperable in either of the foregoing ways, IQl 17 mu t ag 919 96 to reactuate the mechanism after a desired part throttle position has been established.

If the relaxation mechanism has been included in the auxiliary throttle control mechanism, the driver can momentarily decelerate the vehicle without cutting out the control mechanism by pressing the button controlling switch 164. This de-energizes solenoid 82 and energizes solenoid 80 which rotates lever 70 in the direction to lengthen the linkage consisting of said lever, bar 40 and rod 42 to permit the throttle to move toward closed position. Whether the throttle would be completely closed or only partially closed would depend upon the position of bar 40 on magnet 36. As the driver removes his finger from push button switch 164, solenoid 80 is de-energized and solenoid 82 re-energized which rotates lever 70 to its original position, thus again opening the throttle valve to the desired setting.

A modified form of the present invention is illustrated in Figures 8 and 9 wherein the same numerals are used to designate like parts referred to previously herein. The same type of spring loaded one-way connection between the throttle lever and rod 42 is employed in this embodiment as in the previously described embodiment; however, instead of using the magnet and a sliding bar, a magnetic rotary clutch 168 of conventional design is used. Arm 170 is connected at one end to the rotatable core of the magnet and at the other end to rod 42. The operation of the auxiliary throttle control mechanism containing this type of magnetic clutch is the same as the operation of the first control mechanism described herein. Whenever the coil of the clutch is energized, arm 170 is held rigidly in the position assumed at the time of energization and thus forms a minimum setting for part throttle operation.

From the description herein it is seen that the present auxiliary throttle control mechanism can be readily in stalled on a vehicle with only minor changes being required in the standard equipment or mechanisms, and, in view of its simplicity and easy accessibility, it can be readily serviced.

In the present throttle control mechanism, whenever the electrical system for the mechanism develops trouble, or in any way interrupts its operation, the power to magnet 36 is immediately interrupted, thus freeing bar 40 and permitting the throttle to return to its closed position. This is an important safety feature of the present mechanism.

While only two modifications of our mechanism have been described herein, various changes and arrangements and substitution of equivalent parts and means may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

We claim:

1' A mechanism for controlling the throttle valve of a carburetor, comprising a means for operating said throttle valve, a magnetic attractable movable member, a linkage movable with said member for connecting said member with said means, a magnetic means for holding said member in preselected positions and the throttle valve in a desired opened position, a one-way springloaded connection in said linkage adapted to yield only to pressures tending to open the throttle valve, an electrically operated means for increasing and decreasing the length of said linkage to permit at least partial closing of the throttle valve without disturbing the setting of said magnetic means, and an electrical control circuit for said magnetic means having a relay controlled by a holding circuit with a manually controlled switch therein.

2. An auxiliary mechanism for controlling the throttle valve of a carburetor, comprising a movable member, a linkage for connecting said member with the throttle valve, a magnetic means for holding said member in preselected positions and the throttle valve in a desired opened position, a means in said linkage adapted to yield to pressures tending to open the throttle valve, a means in said linkage for increasing and decreasing the effective length of said linkage to permit at least partial closing of the throttle valve, and an electrical control circuit for said magnetic means de-energized by a manually controlled switch. a

3. For use in a vehicle having a brake actuating means and a carburetor with a throttlevalve, an auxiliary mechanism for controlling the throttle valve, comprising a magnetic attractable movable member, a linkage movable with said member for connecting said member with the throttle valve, a magnetic means for holding said member in preselected positions and the throttle valve in a desired opened positon, a one-way spring-loaded connection in said linkage adapted to yield to pressures tending to open the throttle valve, an electrical control circuit for said magnetic means, and a relay controlled by a holding circuit de-energized by the operation of the vehicle brake.

4. For use in a vehicle having a brake actuating means and a carburetor with a throttle valve, a mechanism for controlling the throttle valve, comprising a magnetic attractable movable member, a linkage movable with said member for connecting said member with the throttle valve, a magnetic means for holding said member in preselected positons and the throttle valve in a desired opened position, a one-way spring-loaded connection in said linkage adapted to yield only to pressures tending to open the throttle valve, an electrically operated means for increasing and decreasing the effective length of said linkage to premit at least partial closing of the throttle valve, an electrical control circuit for said magnetic means, and a relay in said circuit controlled by a holding circuit deenergized by the operation of the vehicle brake and a manually operated switch.

5 For use in a vehicle having a brake actuating mechanism and a carburetor with a throttle valve, an auxiliary mechanism for controlling the throttle valve, comprising a magnetic attractable movable member, a means movable with said member for connecting said member with the throttle valve, a magnetic means for holding said member in preselected positions and the throttle valve in a desired opened position, a one-way yieldable connection in said first mentioned means, an electrical control circuit for said magnetic means, and a relay controlled by a holding circuit de-energized by the brake mechanism and a separate manually controlled switch.

6. A mechanism for controlling the throttle valve of a carburetor, comprising a movable member, a linkage movable with said member for connecting said member with the throttle valve, a magnetic means for holding said member in preselected positions and the throttle valve in a desired opened position, a means in said linkage adapted to yield to pressures tending to open the throttle valve, and a means in said linkage for increasing and decreasing the efiective length of said linkage to permit at least partial closing of the throttle valve.

7. In a vehicle having a brake actuating mechanism, a mechanism for retaining the throttle valve of a carburetor in any selected partially opened position, comprising an electrically operated means for controlling the throttle valve, a circuit for energizing said means, a relay for closing said circuit, a circuit for energizing said relay, another circuit for energizing said relay connected to said first mentioned circuit and adapted to be closed when said first mentioned circuit is closed and to remain closed after said second mentioned circuit has been opened, and a relay in said last mentioned circuit for breaking said circuit when said brake actuating mechanism is operated.

8. In a mechanism for retaining the throttle valve of a carburetor in any selected partially opened position, an electrically operated means for controlling the throttle valve, a circuit for energizing said means, a relay for closing said circuit, a circuit for energizing said relay, another circuit for energizing said relay connected to said first mentioned circuit and adapted to be closed when said first mentioned circuit is closed and to remain closed after 7 said second mentioned circuit has been opened, and a switch for breaking said last mentioned circuit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,021,832 Callihan Nov. 19, 1935 Slee et a1. 1 Feb. 12, 1957 

